Miller drawing from past experiences as Proteas target World Cup semifinal

A tried and tested veteran of 110 T20 matches, middle order batter David Miller is drawing from past experiences in his mission to help the Proteas into to the ICC World Cup semifinals in Australia.

Miller has been one of the standout performers for South Africa over the past few months and he has scored 61 runs in two innings in Australia, with Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw leading the way with 111 and 109 runs respectively.

Leaders the Proteas take on fifth-placed Pakistan, who are desperate to win, in the penultimate group 2 match in Sydney on Thursday where Miller is expected to play a crucial role if South Africa are to reach the semifinals unbeaten.

“We are finding lots of ways to win, we have done it over a period of time now. I would say probably the past year, we have found ourselves in tricky situations and managed to get over the line,” the batter said.

“I think with the continuity of the squad over time guys have managed to find their roles and if one guy doesn’t do well someone picks up.

“It is difficult to be successful in this format because there are different kinds of variables. But we have managed to do well and play as a team. I suppose if batters are doing their jobs we don’t need all-rounders and bowlers to bat.

“Obviously the guys are really putting in a lot of the hard work at training, and the tail-enders and all-rounders too, because going into a competition like this you will always have one or two games where we might need them.”

In tight matches where the pressure is on, Miller said he tries to slow the game down.

“The last year-and-a-half has been a good run; personally I try to draw from past experiences. I feel experience is a valuable thing, for example, in the previous game we had a bit of trouble and pressure to win the game.

“It is about slowing the game down and understanding what is required right now. In the past maybe it could have become a bit hasty. I really struggled upfront, whereas Aiden was playing really well.

“If there were a lot dot balls you could get a bit edgy trying to counterattack. As such, I try to slow myself down and realise that if a get through this period the partnership is way too important for me to go out giving my wicket away.

“It helped that Aiden was going really well and picked up one boundary and there was momentum. It’s about weathering the storm. I have been in a lot of different situations in my career and it’s about making sure you are really in the moment and [knowing] what is required.

“Execution became another thing. Fortunately, there were a few opportunities they missed and those helped us, but it was about slowing things down and drawing on past experiences.”

Miller gave credit to the Proteas fast bowlers who have consistently troubled opposition batters and sometimes helped the team cross the line.

“Being in Australia and with regards to the conditions we’ve got here, our pace attackers have done great things over the years and the guys have managed to come into their own and bowling with great energy, a lot of pace and that’s what we need here in Australia.

“It is nice to have someone like Marco [Jansen] sitting on the bench. It's a healthy environment to have. I think the guys are in a good space and, again, just one game at a time and trying to stick to the process.”

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